Serendipity
by The dudeoffanfiction
Summary: Sometimes the small decisions we make can change the course of our lives drastically. Whether it is deciding to take a shortcut through an unfamiliar neighborhood or deciding that keeping a promise to a friend is more important than your own personal discomfort. Tomoya doesn't realize it yet, but he has just made such a decision, and his life will never be the same.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Big thanks to MaxtheFirst for the original story idea, various story contributions, and editing for early chapters.**

**A/N 2: Although this story obviously derives itself from the Clannad Visual Novel/Anime, the story is written in a way that is fairly accessible to newcomers.**

**Update/A/N 3: As part of my edit updates, I changed the abruptness of the ending in this chapter as well.**

**Update/A/N 4: Rated T for alcohol abuse and tobacco use. Putting this here due to character limit. **

**Serendipity**

**Prologue**

I was nervous.

Honestly, I don't know why I was nervous. That day, my parents had prepared a birthday party for me. Tomoya Okazaki, my close and only friend, and maybe some of his friends to. I tried to smile, but in my heart, I felt really nervous about what exactly it would be like when people I didn't know came to my house.

However, fear wasn't the only emotion gripping and tugging at my heat. Joy also firmly found a nice home inside as well. Ever since my parents had announced the party, I'd been extremely excited, even spending an hour of my day picking out the outfit I'd wear on the special day. As someone who spent most of my time reading books, taking time to look pretty in front of others was something I rarely found the time to do.

While I sat at the dinner table in my house, thinking about all of these wonderful, nerve-wracking things, my parents called me up to their room.

There was nothing unusual about that. My parents had talked to me about lots of things. The most intriguing discussions, however, were started by my father.

Both of my parents were scientists, researching the idea of tiny alternate dimensions existing parallel to our world. Because of this, they'd both developed a profound love for the world, and the beauties that existed within it. Eventually, I came to notice all of the wonders the world had to offer.

When I walked inside their room, I was always staggered by the desks overflowing with scientific thesis, and notes on various experiments they'd conducted in the past. I sat down on their bed as they stood over me. Normally, my parents were cheery and enthusiastic but today, they seemed solemn. I started fidgeting uncomfortably, noticing a packed suitcase in the corner of the room.

"Honey," my father said, bending down on his knee so his face came down to mine. "Your mother and I have some important business to take care of."

"Oh," I said, still greatly worried about what he might say next. "When do you have to go?"

"Actually, we have to leave" he hesitated slightly looking in my eyes, a sorrow mist filling in his own. "Immediately,"

My heart began to beat abnormally faster than I accustomed myself to. Emotions consumed and took possession of my mind in ways I'd never seen before. How could they leave now? Why did they have to leave? Couldn't they delay whatever they had to do until later?

"No, you can't leave, you just can't!" I stood up on the bed, stress bursting through my veins, and my small, childish fists beginning to clench. "You promised you'd be here for my birthday, you can't leave me now!"

"I'm really sorry," my mother said. "But, at least your friend Tomoya will be able to come over for the birthday party, and a friend of ours we'll come later to take care of you for the few days we're gone."

"I really wish we didn't have to leave," dad said. "But this is very important. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"It's not fair! Why are you leaving me now, am I really that unimportant to you?" I began to feel tears pouring in streams down my face. I was scared. They had never missed a birthday before. What if Tomoya and his friends didn't show up?

I'd be… alone.

"Sweetie…"

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU BOTH, why can't you love me, not care about your stupid work!" Before they could say another word, I was out the door, and on my bed, cuddling my pillow. Maybe I'd overreacted, but at that moment, I was too angry to reconsider my actions.

"_Why, why don't they love me? Why….."_

I continued to sob, hoping they would come to me; I overheard my parents speaking in hushed voices. Would they come to me? Instead, I heard them walked down the stairs, and into some sort of car. I buried my face into my pillow and cried in my abandoned loneliness.

Under normal circumstances, my parents wouldn't have left me all alone. Normally, the caretaker would have been in the house, watching a mindless, as my parents called it, television program. However, she was gone, out sick with a nagging cold, so for the time being, I was all alone.

After what was only a few minutes, yet felt like hours, I stopped crying, and started to feel guilty for the way I acted. I remembered how Tomoya said he'd be coming to my party, and smiled.

"_At least, he'll be there." _A renewed confidence started to shift my focus temporarily away from my parents "important" business.

I only met Tomoya by chance. He'd found himself lost while trying to chase butterflies, and accidentally walked into my backyard. My mother and I were outside, and she promptly made a comment on how "cute" he was. Of course, he was embarrassed, but soon enough we became friends. He'd talk to me about all sorts of things, and comfort me when I felt upset about something, even if he couldn't fully relate to my situation. Even though he probably didn't understand many of the things I read to him from books, he still listened intently, trying to register what I told him. Yet, he seemed to carry some hidden sadness of his own, different from mine. Sometimes, I wished he'd talk to me about it as I talk to him, but the last thing I wanted to do was bring up bad memories he had. However, whenever he'd visit, his energy and warmth towards me like I was special and unique would always cause me to smile at some point in our conversation.

I knew that those things at least, his smile, his happiness, was _not _fake.

Never having any friends, I was so thankful to have Tomoya in my life. He wasn't only my first friend outside of my parents, but he was possibly the best friend I could ever have.

I really, _really, _wanted him to come.

I dashed down the stairs, and sat myself on the dining room table. As I waited, I tried to think of where my parents might keep the cake if there _was _a cake. I searched every nook and cranny of the kitchen I could find, and then turned to the fridge. As I opened the refrigerator, I grasped the plastic protected cake with both of my hands, and placed it on the table. I resumed my position sitting at the table as I continued to anticipate Tomoya's arrival, I started to get flustered.

I was about to squeal when,

"_DING DONG,"_

I fell backwards.

Regaining my composure, I walked over to the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

There was Tomoya Okazaki, standing with a gift in his hand.

"Oh, ah… Hello Kotomi. 'Sorry my friends didn't come, but I…."

"It's alright, I'm glad you came," I smiled. If only he knew how much he really meant to me.

"Aw, it was nothing, really. After all, we're friends, right?" Then he looked at me and continued.

"Wow, that dress looks pretty on you." He paused for a few seconds and blushed lightly at his statement; he, however, quickly recovered, reverting to the calm happy boy I knew so well.

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun," I my cheeks turned bright red at his compliment. He'd never commented on my appearance before, so why would he suddenly do so then? Suddenly, I remembered. I had picked a dress specifically for this day, and awkwardly nodded. "Th-h-hank you. I didn't think it looked that pretty."

"No, it looks really good on you." He stole a quick, awkward glance at the ceiling. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, of course you can." I grinned, leading him to the dining room table. As soon as he saw the cake, he practically leaped into an empty seat. "Wow, this cake looks yummy! When can we eat it?"  
"Well, now I guess."

"Shouldn't we wait for your parents, though?"

"They had to go somewhere urgent for their job. And since no one else is coming, I don't see a reason we can't eat now."

"I guess not," he smiled, as if not having parents was the most natural thing in the world. "After all, a party's still a party even if there is only one guest." He grinned. "In this case, that'd be me." I chuckled as he opened the plastic case, and almost immediately began to cut the cake. Suddenly, he dropped the knife, and shook his head. "Aw man! I forgot to sing happy birthday!"

"Oh, it's okay. Besides, my parents may want to be the first ones to sing it."

"Well, I'll be the first friend to sing it and they can be the first parents who sing it," He began the song, embarrassment finding it's way into me again. I couldn't help admiring his singing voice; he didn't sound as gruff as he probably thought he did.

"Alright, let's eat!" he announced as he finished. We spent a few minutes eating the cake my mom had prepared for me. Tomoya kept going back for another slice of the cake as we talked. Soon enough, only a few slices remained on the case.

"Boy, I'm stuffed!" He exclaimed. "What do ya think we should do now?"

"Well, we could play a game." I suggested.  
"That's a good idea…. What game?"

"Hmmm…." I paced back and forth near the table, considering what exactly we should play. Thinking my parents would be here for the party, I'd assumed they had come up with games. "We could play soccer in the backyard."

"Soccer? I didn't know you played soccer."

"My dad taught me. I'll get the ball and be right back." I dashed up the stairs and into my room. Sure enough, as I looked into my closet the ball was there, lying still on the floor. Nodding determinedly to myself, I picked it up, and returned to the kitchen.

"That's cool," he smiled. "Alright then, what're the rules?"

"Okay, we'll go to three points." I led Tomoya outside. "You'll start on that side of the field," I pointed near the flowers my mom and I had planted. "And I'll go on the other side of the field. I'll place the ball on the center of the field. When I say go, we'll run for the ball, and try to get it into each other's goals which are in the places I told us to start. Whoever gets three points wins." Before I'd even finished, Tomoya had taken his position.

"Alright then, let's get started!" He yelled, his enthusiasm causing my face to light up without me even knowing it.

"Three, two, one, go!"

I wasn't much for sports normally. Reading, writing, and other forms of education was something that enthused me much more than sports. However, I remembered hearing Tomoya say he enjoyed sports, and I wanted to prove I could do more than just school work and read books. I could have fun to. I didn't tell him my father had been playing soccer for years, and that he had been a lead player on his university's team prior to his scientific endeavors.

When the game started, Tomoya easily scored the first point. He was much faster than me, and keeping up with him proved to be difficult. After resetting the ball, the second round began.

I dashed as fast as my little legs could carry me. Instantly, I noticed I was moving at the same speed as Tomoya. When we were only a few feet from the ball, I slid downwards, kicking the ball as I did. Tomoya turned backwards as he observed the ball reaching the goal. Dad had taught me that in soccer, reaction was as important as speed.

"Wow, Kotomi-chan, you're really fast!" He smirked. "But don't get cocky just because you got one point on me."

In the third round, I stayed back near my side of the yard. In order to win, I felt the most effective strategy was to stand back, and see if I could intercept the ball from him. As my father had said at times, "Let the opponent make the first mistake, and let him underestimate you; once he has that thought on his head, he will keep it even after you prove him wrong." Sure enough, Tomoya came at the ball too slowly, and let the ball drift a little too far from his foot. Just before Tomoya could kick the ball, I moved the ball slightly to the side, and made another score. "Whoa…." He said. "But you're not gonna score again, Kotomi."

Next round, I employed the same tactic I had in the first round. However, Tomoya reached the ball a second before I did, and after moving the ball a few feet away from me, kicked the ball into my goal. In a matter of seconds, he'd easily adapted to my tactics.

"Alright!" He cheered. "Okay, this one's for the game." He offered me his hand. "Good luck, Kotomi-chan."

Every time he called me 'chan', I noticed the red in my cheeks as if it was the first time I'd ever blushed. Now, however, my mind was on the game, and no matter what, I was going to try my best to win. I shook his hand and said, "You too, Tomoya-kun."

When we reached our positions, Tomoya called for the game to start. Even in my dress, I felt like I was running faster than I ever had in my life. My entire body nearly burst open with adrenaline as I finally made it to the ball.

I was prepared to make a kick before Tomoya side stepped the ball away from me. He was not holding back now.

Remembering his tactic, I closely followed him at close range, making sure the ball didn't get a shot at my goal. Tomoya did not let the ball get too far from his foot so I could not steal it this time. He was intent on forcing the ball into my goal.

After a few minutes, he made a mistake. He accidentally kicked the ball towards my direction. I exploited his mishap, kicking the ball down the path.

For a few seconds, the ball seemed to slow down too soon. Realizing the ball might not cross the plane, Tomoya burst down the field. Surely enough, just as Tomoya started sliding to reach the ball, it crossed the goal line.

Somehow, I had won.

Tomoya looked towards the ball, and then back at me. He slowly walked up to me, and sighed. "Wow, Kotomi. You're a natural. To be honest, I never thought that you were good at sports."  
"It was a good game. You played really well, Tomoya-kun, I think I was just lucky.…"  
"No really," he smiled. "You're really good it was like playing a pro,"  
"Well…." I said, awkwardly. After a few seconds of silence, I smiled. "My father played back in his university days before he started pursuing his career as a scientist," My spirits lifted at the memory of the many Saturday mornings racing back and forth across the makeshift field as he taught me the in and outs of soccer. I tried to understand everything I could, even if it didn't come as naturally as school. "You made a few easy mistakes near the end to, Tomoya-kun-"

Before I could complete my response, I heard a knock at the front door. The sky was almost completely dark.

"Someone at the door?" He asked. Shrugging, I ran back through the house, Tomoya closely following me, and opened the door. I hoped it was my parents, who had come back because their trip had been cancelled, or potentially delayed. On the other hand, it could be the person my parents were getting to watch me. I was hoping for the optimistic theory; that my parents had returned.

They hadn't.

Three men stood at the door. One was a gray haired man with small, sad gray eyes, who had been to dinner a number of times at my house, one of the few party guests my parents had. Another was wearing sunglasses, and seemed to be shaking uncomfortably. The third man had an unusually skinny face, and his features seemed to almost force themselves into a frown. All three of them wore matching suits, and hats.

"Kotomi Ichinose?" The gray haired man said. "I'm a close friend of your parents. I…." He grabbed his hat, and placed it near his chest. "I'm afraid…" He sighed, a tear going down his cheek. "I have bad news."

"What is it, sir?" I didn't know who these men were, but I began to feel very scared. Tomoya held my hand although I did not notice it then.  
"You're parents… Have both died. The plane they were on crashed into the ocean."

_Edited January 2, 2014_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"NO!" Two of the men were taken aback by my sudden outburst, yet the one who first spoke stayed somber and down cast.

"I'm sorry, but I can't hide something this important from you. From this day forward, I'm going to be…"  
"NO! None of this can be true, it's all a lie!" I could feel tears pouring down my face. "You're lying! You have to be."

"I'm afraid it's true," he nodded sadly and added softly, "I wish it weren't,"

"NO!" I jumped up. "You're a bad man, how could you know these things?! You're lying, you….." I didn't know what to say. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn't keep up this act. Deep inside, I knew he was right. My parents were gone and they thought I hated them. The tears kept falling, and after a few more seconds, I silently ran up to my room. In the distance, I heard Tomoya try to follow me upstairs, only to be stopped by the men outside telling him to wait, but the sounds downstairs, while loud, were overpowered by the cries of anguish in my heart.

My parents were dead. My parents were dead….

I buried my face in the pillow in my room, quickly making the pillow wet. I tried to suck up the tears, attempting to consider what life would be like without them, but I couldn't even take a minute to think. Minutes passed. My tears had slightly subsided, but regardless, I still felt sadness I thought would last eternal in my heart. The first thought that came to mind was the men.

"_They…..must have done something to my parents. They're the ones who…." _I couldn't bear to hear those words ring in my mind again. I wasn't sure whether they had done anything to my parents or not. Either way, I hated them all and the work that took my parents from me. I knew in some way, that where they had worked was dangerous.

My mind brought me back to earlier that day. I yelled at my parents, said I hated them, and wished they weren't my parents at all. I felt like my entire body was pierced with daggers at that moment. I didn't mean those things, but never getting to say goodbye to my parents made me angry at myself. Soon enough, I found myself sobbing again.

I heard footsteps, coming closer to me by the second. Instinctively, I guessed the man had returned. I did not want to talk to him at all. I turned, and was surprised to see Tomoya instead. While I knew he could never understand the situation I was in, he looked so somber, one might think his parents had died.

"Kotomi…. I'm….. sorry."

"You don't understand, Tomoya-kun." I buried my face in my hands. "I didn't wish them a goodbye. I, I didn't let them know I loved them before they left… I was so ungrateful." I sobbed for a few seconds before continuing. "I yelled at them, told them I hated them…" My attention turned away from Tomoya to upwards. "God, I'm so sorry. I know I deserved it but…. Why, why did you let me do it? WHY?!" My face had contorted into one of complete depression. I no longer felt happy with anything. I saw myself as an ungrateful brat who wasn't grateful for the parents I was given at all.

Tomoya walked over to me. His face was also teary-eyed. Sitting next to me, he stared down at his hands as I cried.

"Kotomi, my mommy's dead." I suddenly stopped crying, and turned towards me. "She's been dead for over a year now." He slowly stood up. "I find myself crying almost every day. Every morning before school, every night before I go to bed, I can't ever stop thinking about it." He started crying. "Every day, I ask myself, 'What did I do wrong, why did my mom die?' And to this day, I don't know why she died. But….." He turned his head towards me. "I learned one thing. I can't blame myself for what happened. Many, many people die every day. It just shows how cruel….. How cruel life can be." His tone suddenly grew sharp, and he almost started to yell. "But you can't blame yourself for what happened to them, Kotomi! You can't! You messed up; people do that every day, but you can't blame yourself Kotomi!"

I was shocked. Frightened in a way I had never been frightened before. Tomoya had never yelled at me this way. He'd never been so fierce about anything I said. Before I could say a word, he started to break down.

"You can't. You can't, Kotomi, you…." My face began to well up with tears again. Although we were both seconds, he seemed to keep his composure better than I did. After a few seconds, I started sobbing, and we wrapped each other in a warm embrace. I felt his warm face crying against my shoulder, his tears occasionally touching my bare skin. I could tell he wanted to say something. I could tell he wanted to clarify his statements, continue to let me know how valuable life was, and possibly remind me of honoring my parents by being the best person I could be. He didn't say a word. I didn't dare say a word to disturb the calm, peace I felt in that moment. During our embrace, I felt strange, but I felt a calming, encouraging feeling I had never felt.

I never wanted to let him go.

After what felt like hours, I felt myself giving away to fatigue. Oddly enough, Tomoya seemed as awake as ever. I lay against his shoulder. Smiling as he did, I saw Tomoya slowly lay me down on my bed, pulling the covers over me as he did. Before I fell asleep, I heard Tomoya say,

"Sweet dreams, Kotomi-chan."

I gazed down at the girl I had just lain down in her bed. As I stared at her, I started to feel a strange peace inside. I felt like what lay before my eyes represented all of the beauty the world had to offer.

As I slowly walked outside Kotomi's room, and down the stairs, I thought back to the events that had previously occurred. When I decided to go to her house for a birthday party, I, Tomoya Okazaki, had no idea I'd be celebrating a birthday alone with Kotomi, and then having to comfort her when her parents turned out to be dead. In my condition, my mother dead, father now lost in depression and sadness, I never thought I'd have the power to encourage anyone. Never even I'd have the strength to briefly remove my rain cloud in order to act cheerful and kind to others. Somehow, I'd done both.

When I reached the downstairs section of her house, I turned towards the old man who'd told Kotomi the startling news. In a way I couldn't understand, he unsettled me, he looked old and alone?

"Thank you for lifting Kotomi-san's spirits." He said, standing up from his position on the couch.

"Yeah, it's what friends do for friends." I forced, hearing the slight edge to my voice with stunning clarity.

"Indeed. I have a feeling she may not trust or like me after what's happened today. But I hope, I might be able to convince her of my loyalty to her and her family," he spoke the words with a strange burden. He looked at me. "Would you please to continue to come and visit her? Her parents, Kotaru and Mizue spoke to me of how great a friend you were for her, and she needs her friends,"

"I was going to do that anyways. What would make you think that after her being her friend for quite a while now, I'd just stand up and walk away when she's feeling so sad?"

"Nothing. I've just seen many people in my life," he sighed. "Observed someone going through tragic circumstances, and then saw so-called friends leave them alone to mourn, as they cannot relate to their friend's pain or-," His words carried loneliness and pain that made me wonder if he somehow knew how both Kotomi and I felt.

"Well, I'm not them." I walked to the front door, shutting it behind me.

"Don't ever be that," he spoke to the now absent boy.

I don't know why I reacted so tersely. I don't know why I didn't go home, and exhibit all of my anger there. That's what I normally did.

That day, however, I felt a different, better reason to be angry than my own problems. Kotomi, my best friend Kotomi, just heard an hour or so ago her parents are now dead. When I told her about my mom's death, about the pain I had been through ever since, I felt an emotional connection, a bond stronger than I'd ever felt before, develop between us. It's as if, as sad as it may seem, tragedy connected us in a way I had never expected it would.

For once, I could see the positives of the bad thing that happened years ago.

As I walked home, I suddenly realized how dark it was. The normally silent thoughts that rang through my head seemed to be yelling at me, only the occasional wind gust to set me at ease. A year ago, I'd never even consider staying out this late; of course my parents would have come looking for me then. Now things were very different from what they were like a year ago, no one came looking. Not even a distant unsettling old man bothered to look for me.

I had a few friends at school. I definitely wouldn't say, by any definition of the word that I was popular, but I would say school, on occasion, could be enjoyable. Although whenever I went home, I never found myself thinking about school, or the friends I'd talk to there. It seemed as soon as I returned home, reality would come crashing down as soon as I saw my dad. From the time she died, he had already become distant, but soon he seemed to lose any ounce of life in him to alcohol and gambling. Sometimes I think he died when my mother did and never came back to me as if I was not worth coming to. There were times, particularity early on, I'd admit to myself that my dad tried to convince me he still cared by doing things for me, but this felt shallow and sad to me as he never felt like the loving, caring father he once was. Instead, he felt cold and distant, someone too driven by pain and emotion to truly connect with me or anyone else. If the father I knew before hadn't completely disappeared with my mother's death, he'd become a faint whisper of what he once was.

Kotomi, however, was one of the (maybe the only) bright spot in my dreary life. Her curious, shy, relatable personality seemed to brighten my day in an instant. Since we first met, I could tell we would be good friends; even if it seemed like we were very different people. On the inside, we shared a bond I felt was never unbreakable.

At my age, 10 going on 11 years old, most kids would've been scared walking home in the near pitch black darkness that reigned over the sky. I wasn't most kids. I'd find myself being lost in my thoughts more and more as time went on. Sometimes, I didn't see the point in leaving my mind for anything. Kotomi's birthday was definitely no exception.

But, I found myself thinking about more than my sadness. I thought about Kotomi. About the pain, and sadness she must be feeling realizing her parents were dead, about how life will be like for her leaving with a strange, slightly distant old guy who seemed to be emotionless. My mind drifted to what school will be like, having to potentially hide her depressed emotions in order to seem friendly in front of other people. The constant barrage of worries that might come into her mind now seemed to be bombarding my mind.

As I finally reached my broken home, I came to a conclusion.

No matter what happened in Kotomi's life, no matter how she would treat me after her parents' death, no matter what may happen regardless of what anyone would say. I will take the old guy on his word, now certain on one thing.

I was going to stay Kotomi's friend no matter what.


End file.
